ABT Sportsline, the globally largest tuner of cars produced by the Volkswagen Group, has just won a prize. The readers of the renowned German AUTO ZEITUNG voted the traditional and innovative Bavarian company the “top brand”. In the “tuner” category, ABT got 29.4 per cent, ranking first. “For us, this is a marvellous result, a real inspiration. We want to continue to make our customers and fans happy with our perfect products”, says Hans-Jürgen Abt. The ABT Sportsline CEO points to the new products he and his team are going to present at the Geneva Motor Show.

ABT Golf VII

The Geneva Motor Show will see
a lot of spectacular presentations. And Volkswagen has a very sporty
one up its sleeve. The company will present the latest version of its Golf VII GTI. “This car is not only brand new, but also very hot“, says Hans-Jürgen Abt,
CEO of the globally largest tuner of cars produced by the Volkswagen
Group. For the Bavarian company, the GTI is simply a love affair. After
all, it has been successfully involved in its tuning right from the
start. No wonder, then, that the ABT designers and engineers have now been working on the seventh generation of this “über-Golf” as well. The result is a car that leaves nothing to be desired and is a real eye-catcher.

Even though it still has to be tested on the road, we know that the ABT Golf VII with its 2.0 TFSI shows a constant 270 hp or 199 kW, up from the serial version’s 220 hp or 162 kW. Currently, ABT Sportsline is
working on the second, even more potent stage of expansion, an uprating
to as much as 310 hp (228 kW). It goes without saying that soon ABT will also have available a power variant based upon the 230 hp or 169 kW serial version.

Assertive, no doubt: The ABT Golf VII GTI is a perfect car
that leaves nothing to be desired. Which it may well show: White, red
and an aggressive black signal that this Golf is more than a Golf and
more than a GTI, too. Because, yes, it’s an ABT Golf GTI! You
could hardly make the VW evergreen more dynamic or sporty: Front spoiler
and front grille underline the strong charisma of the ABT Golf GTI,
the eye brows its aggressiveness.
Mirror caps and side skirts form a
sort of attractive connection with the rear, which, in turn, with its
rear skirt insert and trunk lid attachment radiates unobtrusive
dominance. The four-pipe exhaust system is a typical ABT design element. When you look at the ABT Golf GTI’s rear, you will certainly know where it has been tuned.

The ABT programme for the VW Golf VII GTI is completed by
suspension springs that lower the CoG and even increase the serial
version’s roadholding capacities. And ABT Sportsline also has available the right sport-type wheels. They recommend the DR and ER-C alloy wheels, whose design underscores the magnificent looks of the Golf VII GTI.
The wheels are available in 18 and 19 inches and have an aggressive
gunmetal look. “The dark color matches our GTI’s sportiness perfectly”,
says Hans-Jürgen Abt.

ABT RS5-R

Well, you are fully allowed to be a wee bit self-confident out there on the road. Especially if you are driving an ABT RS5-R, with all the ABT Sportsline experience behind it. “The RS5-R
combines the results of all our motorsports and roadworthiness
competences and skills. This car reflects all our know-how, down to the
last detail”, says Hans-Jürgen Abt, the CEO of ABT Sportsline.
And the result is indeed quite something: The exhaust system with its
side pipes in front of the rear wheels lends the 470 hp (346 kW)
eight-cylinder engine the right sound. The racer reaches 100 km/h in
only 4.3 seconds and its top speed is limited... at 303 km/h.

The body parts are made of carbon fiber, which reduces the tuned car’s weight by a huge margin. The “slim” ABT RS5-R has
an athletic body, just as you would need it on a race track. The
aggressive front skirt with its “side flics”, the front splitter, side
skirts or rear wing are also made of light CFRP. The same applies to the
bonnet with its impressive air outlets. The rear skirt set and the also
weight-optimised super sport wheels round off the car’s look. The
wheels incidentally are also characterised by a perfect design and
sportiness: The new light and elegant forged ER-F in befitting
9.5 x 20 inches with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT in 275/30 R20 is used here
to provide the perfect grip on the black top.

The “racing DNA” of the ABT RS5-R is also reflected in its
expressive black-red Alcantara interior. Racing stripes on the
sport-type bucket seats, carbon fiber door panels, 4-point safety belts
and a high-grade steel rollover cage form the driver’s “work station”.
The sport-type steering wheel with LED shift indicator light is made of
carbon fiber and Alcantara and simply feels good. The ABT RS5-R
is not only a car, but also a machine you want to take to its limits.
This car is a touring car for the road developed by the engineers of the
quintuple DTM (German Touring Masters) champion from Bavaria.

ABT AS6-R Avant

Elegant, luxurious and extremely sporty, that’s how the estate car looks like. The new ABT AS6-R Avant, based upon the Audi S6, is an all-rounder of the first water. It is a travel companion, racer and, if need be, a racer. The AS6-R has as many strong points as there are fields of application. Thanks to ABT POWER S, that is, an optimised motor management, and the ABT turbocharger,
it is indeed most powerful and persevering. 600 hp/441 kW, 40 hp more
than even the Audi RS6 has, will make it huge fun to drive on the
“Nordschleife”, too.

The huge power uprating of 180 hp (132 kW) on the serial version can
be felt all over. Torque is increased from 550 Nm to enormous 750 Nm. So
the ABT AS6-R Avant is also a high-performance “pack donkey”. It
reaches 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, almost 1 second faster than the
“normal” S6 model. Its top speed is 310 km/h, with the 250 km/h limit
removed for the ABT AS6-R.

While the ABT Sportsline engineers certainly tuned the
V8-Biturbo, they also left it utterly roadworthy. It will thus behave in
a very civilised fashion. Still, you can see that the Bavarians are a
very experienced motorsports company as well: The front skirt add-on,
side skirt add-on and the rear spoiler form a very powerful and dynamic
unit. The components are made of exposed carbon, which underlines the
look and feel of the ABT AS6-R. The sport-type exhaust system lends the high-end estate a powerful sound.

ABT recommends its own high-performance wheels to go with this special car, the DR, for example, which in 9 x 21 inches fits the AS6-R perfectly. And the new sport wheel ER-X is an ideal, weight-optimised wheel for a “racing estate”. This masterpiece is available as a cast version, called ER-C, or forged edition, ER-F. It goes without saying that ABT also sells its wheels in combination with high-performance tires. After all, the car has 600 hp and wants to reach top speed.

ABT R8 GTR

Its predecessor had already
attested to the huge competence always shown by the globally largest
tuner of cars produced by the Volkswagen Group. Now, the new ABT R8 GTR has also turned out to be a roadworthy “dream car” based upon the company’s motorsport experience. And the “ABT POWERed” super
sports car’s V10 engine’s performance data are indeed impressive: 620
hp (456 kW), up from “only” 525 hp (386 kW) shown by Audi R8’s serial
version. The top speed of the ABT R8 GTR is 325 km/h. The fastest R8 reaches 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, 200 km/h in 9.9 seconds, a speed range for champions.

This is made possible by the Bavarian company’s marvellous engineering skills. In conjunction with the developers in the ABT racing department, the engineers have seen to less weight and its ideal distribution. The body parts do not only fit the design of the R8 GTR, the ABT Sportsline version
also weighs 100 kg less. This can be put down to all its components
being made of high-quality, durable and extremely light carbon fiber. Be
it the front or rear spoiler, rear wing, hatch door or bonnet, it’s all
made of carbon fiber. Even the exterior mirrors, door panels and rear
tearoff edge are made of carbon fiber. ABT has surely come up
with a perfect sports car, down to the last detail. Even the front
splitter is adjustable, for, say, a professional use of the R8 GTR on the legendary “Nordschleife” or Hockenheimring.

“This car combines all our experiences gained in all the decades we have been involved in premium motorsports“, says Hans-Jürgen Abt, CEO of ABT Sportsline.
And his company’s competence can indeed be found in each and every
detail. From the ceramic braking system, the height-adjustible
sport-type suspension with its adjustable shock absorbers to the wheels –
it all bears the Kempten signature. For the R8 GTR, the traditional “high-end company” has used the ER-F
forged wheel. Again, weight reduction plays a huge role here. In
motorsports, it’s decisive that the unsprung masses are as small as
possible, and that’s where the ER-F, used here in 9 x 19 inches
(front axle) and 11 x 19 inches (rear axle), is so very convincing. It
goes without saying that the sports car stands on high-speed tires
suitable for the car’s top speed.

The interior of the ABT R8 GTR, a black-red Alcantara, is
surely assertive and tasteful. Discreet racing stripes adorn the sport
bucket seats. A rollover cage and 4-point safety belts are as much part
of the equipment as is the extravagant and practical sport-type steering
wheel made of Alcantara and carbon and featuring LED-shift indicator
lights. After all, the ABT R8 GTR allows extremely fast lap
times: Its performance and its equipment make this car a dream car that
is both uncompromising and roadworthy. You won’t get any more ABT right now.

ABT ER-X

Wheels have to roll, but that
is certainly not everything they are supposed to do. In the
high-performance range, it is important that an alloy wheel is not only
as light as possible, but also shows a perfect weight distribution. And
that is exactly what ABT Sportsline has seen to when it was developing the new ER-X series, which consists of the ER-C (cast) and ER-F (forged)
variants. “Our objective was to come up with a wheel that meets all our
sport standards in all technical aspects“, says Hans-Jürgen Abt.
The CEO of the globally largest tuner of cars produced by the
Volkswagen Group does also point out, however, that the design aspect
has been equally important: “A wheel has to make a dynamic impression
from the outside as well, and it has to epitomise motion even when it’s
standing still“, he adds.

The five double spokes of the ABT ER-X symbolise dynamism: One
strut of each pair is bent, which leaves a very powerful impression. At
the same time, the design is airy and light, elegant and chic, so that
every wheel is suitable for a whole range of different cars and will
“round off” all their looks perfectly. The cast variant, the ABT ER-C,
is available in 18, 19 and 20 inches for the Audi series A3, A4, A5,
A6, A7, A8, TT, Q3, Q5 and Q7, and for the VW models Golf VI and VII,
Beetle, Eos, Scirocco, Passat, CC, Touran, Sharan, Tiguan, Touareg and
Phaeton.

The real highlight of the ABT ER-X range is the forged ER-F, whose additional weight reduction can be felt all over. This high-end wheel has been designed for “extreme athletes”. The new ABT ER-F is a premium wheel for people with very sporty premium cars. But be it an ER-F or ER-C, the new ABT Sportsline high-performance
wheels always feature innovative technology and a spectacular design
for modern people who want something special.